N°7 Pinot Noir Reviews

The three Pinot Noirs I tasted include the 2013 Pinot Noir No. 7 from Sonoma Coast. It shows a dark ruby/plum color and loads of red apple skin notes intermixed with cherry, strawberry, a touch of raspberry, earthiness and spice. The fruit is pure, rich, medium to full-bodied and promising. This is a youthful wine that should drink nicely for up to a decade.

Fulsome and voluptuous in red and dark cherry, No. 7 is meant to be “debonair, charismatic and seductive.” It is all those things, and stays well balanced between fruit, spice and oak, the weight and texture indeed silky and seductive.

 — V.B.  

Chairman's Award 
Unanimous Gold
Clean, elegant freshness, with a long, lingering finish.

JCB's pinots are gradually becoming more impressive over the years. This '11 isn't their greatest effort given the huge difficulties of the cold vintage, but it is a success. Brisk acidity and a clean, dry mouthfeel make the raspberry, red currant , white pepper and sandalwood flavors attractive to drink now.

Opulent and complex showing dried cherry, ripe tree fruit, black tea, and spice, with hints of mushroom and earth. Long, silky finish. Delicious. Grilled squad with chanterelles.

Young, with a mix of generous boysenberry and oak in a complex, layered effort, gaining a pleasing melted black licorice aftertaste and letting the oak ease its way tin to the heart of the wine. Best from 2013 through 2022.

This is a rich, delicious and balanced Pinot. It defines the modern California style, being dry, silky and ripe, showing a wealth of raspberry, cherry, cola, persimmon and spice flavors. Oak adds rich notes that are perfectly in keeping with the fruit. Drink this savory wine over the next few years.

A stylish statement, reliant on equal parts dense, mocha-laced flavors of currant and dark berry, joined by creamy, vanilla bean-tinged oak. Extracted, dense and concentrated, this maintains its chewiness through the finish, where it takes on a more rustic presence. The inaugural Jean-Charles Boisset Cabernet. Best from 2013 through 2023. 50 cases made. –JL

Young, with a mix of generous boysenberry and oak in a complex, layered effort, gaining a pleasing melted black licorice aftertaste and letting the oak ease its way into the heart of the wine.